The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers, #4)

by Becky Chambers

You had to pause in the face of reflex, ask yourself if the narrative you attached to the knee-jerk was accurate.

The universe was not an object. It was a beam of light, and the colours that it split into changed depending on whose eyes were doing the looking. Nothing could be taken at face value. Everything had hidden facets, hidden depths that could be interpreted a thousand ways – or misinterpreted in the same manner. Reflexes kept a person safe, but they could also make you stupid.

But here’s the thing: they’re all so fucking bonkers for cheese that they’ll ingest a dose of the enzymes beforehand so that they can eat it.’ ‘That seems a bit extreme,’ Roveg said. ‘Have you eaten it?’ Tupo asked. ‘Not if my life depended on it,’ Pei said. ‘How is it that their milk makes them sick?’ Speaker said. ‘That’s got to pose a problem if they can’t feed their young.’ ‘Oh, no, I – stars, I forgot the worst part.’ Pei rubbed her neck with her palm. ‘They don’t make cheese with their own milk. They take it from other animals.’ At that, chaos broke out. ‘I didn’t know that part,’ Roveg said, his forelegs shivering. ‘That’s . . . oh, that’s vile.’ And it truly was, but this fact did nothing to derail his glee. Tupo had become scientific fervour incarnate. ‘How do they take it from them?’ ‘Tupo, please,’ xyr mother said wearily. The Akarak looked dumbfounded. ‘But . . . but why?’ ‘I have no idea,’ Pei said. ‘No idea.’ ‘I knew they ate other mammals, but . . . ugh,’ Roveg said. ‘They eat mammals?’ Tupo said, xyr voice heading toward a shriek. Speaker cocked her head. ‘Is that worse?’ she asked. ‘Killing and eating them, rather than harvesting something from them while still alive?’

I laughed for a solid minute at this.